VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – It’s a way of predicting the effects of tomorrow’s climate change today. For the next month, high tides are expected to reach up to five metres, up from the 3.4 to four metres we usually see. The phenomenon is known as “king tides.”

They happen twice a year when the sun and moon’s gravitational forces reinforce one another.

One city planner considers them a possible indicator of what future tide events will be like, as a normal winter high tide by 2050 is expected to be as high due to climate change.

“It’s funny, because our two biggest issues here in the Lower Mainland are going to be too much water and too little water,” admits Councillor Andrea Reimer, chair of Vancouver’s Planning, Transportation, and Environment Committee.

“When we’re looking at the modelling today and what we might expect 10 years from now, it’s already scary,” she feels.

“If it is much more widespread and much more severe, it’s a race right now to build the infrastructure and modify the infrastructure and get communities ready for it.”

Reimer also admits this presents some interesting challenges. “Figuring out how to protect infrastructure, figuring out how to mitigate impacts to property, but also systems.”

“It doesn’t matter that the electrical line at my house is fine if the entire grid has been wiped out because of an event closer to the shoreline.”

Vancouver’s Greenest City Action Plan addresses mitigating the effects of climate change, but Reimer warns homeowners and businesses need to be brought on-board too.